Wednesday, November 18, 2015

For the record...

I've remarked many times on this blog how windy it's been here in the marina. How it seems that the pound here seems to capture the wind more than the local canal and surrounding area. We've had very strong winds here. Often. But believe me, the wind we experienced yesterday and throughout the night was the worst by a long way. The boat shook continuously, buffeted by the water and by the wind. Quite alarming at times, I can tell you. There's a degree of security, however, in the knowledge that the roof can't blow off!

I didn't venture out to take any photos yesterday. We had to go shopping, and being out in it then was quite enough for me. Bringing the shopping from the car to the boat, I was stopped in my tracks several times by the strongest gusts. Three trips back and forth, and I was ready to get back into the boat and stay there! The pictures above were taken this morning, and the wind has abated somewhat. The photos don't really show the wind as it is, though, so I tried making a short video. Too hurried, I'm afraid. The warm comfort of Kantara was calling.

Grace oiled the draining board and other oak boards in the galley yesterday. A matter of sanding gently, cleaning the surfaces with white spirit, then brushing on several coats of Danish Oil, with five hours drying time between applications. Neither difficult nor time consuming, except for the long period of time during which we couldn't use the surfaces, nor do the washing up, for fear of splashing them with water. So it was lunch at Sainsbury's before we did the major food shopping, and a light, cold bite to eat in the evening. The last coat, applied first thing this morning, is drying now.

"Water filling points are provided at sensible intervals around the entire inland waterways system, but boaters need to remember to keep their eyes on the tank level, and to stop at appropriate moments to fill up. The job takes less than half an hour every five days or so for the two of us. A smallish problem."

So you'd think that when we're not out on the cut, and the water point is just a few paces away, we wouldn't run out of water, wouldn't you? Yes, so would I. But we did. Yesterday late evening when the wind was at its height. Not clever. So that was the first thing I had to do this morning. In the strong wind. At least it wasn't raining.Oh, it's just started! And we still need to wax one side of the boat. Hmmm.

Glad you like the blog, Mark - thanks. I used Carnauba wax, given to me by the guy who painted Kantara. You can read about it here on the blog, two posts before this one - Waxing lyrical about Carnauba. It's really good stuff.